Andrew Mark Sauerwein

Line is both an aphoristic commentary on Grace Andrews’s lyrics and an embodiment of the creative process her poetry brings so vividly and intimately to life. For the technically-minded, the piece draws on a preoccupation with doubly-chromatic mediants and their intersection with symmetrical scales. The expressive aim of the piece, though, is a distilled evocation of artistic concentration, persistent effort, and surprised wonder.

Lyrics:

Line

By line,

Structured grid,

Strict perfection,

Strong order—

This is

Not complete.

Try to fit in this shoebox,

Squeeze coffee from a lemon,

Flatten the color wheel to a graphite ladder.

Calm. Control.

Complex.

Lines criss-cross,

Grids become webs,

Perfection grows deep,

Light now refracts.

Order, now

Complicated.

Craning toward completion?